Sunbaked Siblings sweattestosterone rivalry as they slipand slide into the pooland each other.Shrill laughter darts inand around the jumble of gleeful voices.

The fan’s hot breath chasesescaping tendrils of hair. They stingmy cheeks and eyes in retreat.

Panting dogs circle the pooland me in search of relief, or liquid, orthe simple need to round up the straggly pack.

A purple umbrella shelters mefrom the insistent glare of a probing sunas listless ice cubes sink into the tepid seaof lemonade. It sweetly beckons a buzzing flyas I watch through the streamers across my eyes.

And so begin the days of heat and sweat,the endless hours of water fights, water guns, sticky hands,stinging flies and eyes. Ushered in by sun-screened boysa wave of summer joy douses my desire for snowflakes,dampens my lingering dream of frostbitten breath and tongues of firelight.

My sigh is lost in a gurgle, choked-off by a well-aimed stream of little boy glee.